1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical plug-and-socket connector including a chamber block having chambers with plug-in sockets therein, a first plug-and-socket connector housing which houses the chamber block, a second plug-and-socket connector housing attached to the first connector housing and having plug pins, a seal sealing the connector housings from one another, and electrical leads extending through passages in the first connector housing into the chambers.
2. Background Art
DE 698 05 084 T2 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,860) and DE 695 16 947 T2 disclose electrical plug-and-socket connectors having first and second plug-and-socket connector parts. The first connector part includes a first plug-and-socket connector housing and the second connector part includes a second plug-and-socket connector housing. The connector housings are attached to one another with a rubber seal inserted therebetween. Plug pins in one of the connector housings extend through openings in the seal and contact plug-in sockets in the other connector housing. The seal seals off the connector housings from one another to prevent moisture from penetrating into the transition region of the connector housings.
To completely seal an electrical plug-and-socket connector from moisture, the electrical feed line regions of the connector parts must also be protected from moisture penetration. This is not a problem when pin-shaped feed lines are injection molded into one of the connector housings. A connector part having such a design usually forms a fixedly installed part of an electrical plug-and-socket connector.
An electrical plug-and-socket connector typically has flexible electrical lead wires as the feed lines. Such lead wires or “leads” extend through the passages of one of the connector housings and are electrically and mechanically connected to the plug-in sockets or plug pins within the connector housings. Such plug-in sockets and plug pins are frequently used in retaining chambers of a chamber block for a mechanically stable arrangement.
In order to pass the leads through the one of the connector housings in a moisture-tight manner, the passages may be sealed either by subsequently casting around the leads or by providing an extra seal through which the leads are guided. Both of the subsequent casting and the extra seal as an additional component are costly.